Art of rolling metal



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. R. A. CARTER.

v ART 0F ROLLING METAL.

No. 390,344. Patented 001;. 2, 1888 (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet R. A. CARTER.

ART 0F ROLLING METAL. No. 390,344. Patented Oet. 2, 1888.

N. PETERS. Fhmmuxhqgmphnr. wamingmn. D. C4

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

Patented Oct. 2, 1888.

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ART 0F RULLING METAL.

n Fig UNITED STATES PATENT rivier.0

ROBERT A. CARTER, OF PTTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

Aar or ROLLING METAL...

EuPECIFCAT-'ON forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,344, dated October 2, 1.888,

Application filed February 2R, 185B.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itA known that I, Ronnn'r A. CARTER, a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Alle gheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Art of Rolling Metals; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eX- act description thereof.

My invention relates to the art of rolling metals,and more especially plate metal. Heretofore in t-he rolling oi' plate metal three general methods and types of machines have been employed, one consisting in the employment of a two-high set of rolls and a liftingtable on one side of the rolls to receive the billet or slab as it comes from the pass and raise it above the top ofthe upper roll to drop it back on a fixed table on the other side of the rolls, to be again fed into the pass of the latter, another method consisting in usingathree-high set of rolls with lifting-tables on each side of the rolls, so that the metal can be passed in one direction between the betteln and middle roll, and in `the reverse direction between the top and middle rolls. The third method consists in the use of a two-high reversing-train, in'which the direction of rotation of the rolls is changed after each pass by reversing the driving-engines, so that the metal may be rolled in both directions. The objection to the first of these methods is that it requires a very large number of men to carry on the rolling operation and manipulate the slab, and where large sizes of plates', such as armorplates, are rolled, even a large number of men havegreat difficulty in manipulating the metal so as to secure quick and uniform rolling. In the second method the great disadvantage lies in the very heavy cost of the three-high rollingmills and tables and the expense of operating them. fith the third or reversing method the cost of the machinery is also very large, as the d living-engines and boilers have to be of extra strength and power, and the wear and tear on the engines is very great from the severe strains of the reversing operation.

The object of my invention is to avoid all these objections by employing a method in which the necessity of heavy and expensive machineryis avoided andthe labor ol manipulating the metal reduced.

Serial No. 264,998. (No model.)

To these ends my invention consists, generally stated, in rolling the metal between the rolls in one direetion,then separating the rolls and passing the metal back in the reverse direction between the space thus formed between the rolls, to be again fed forward when the rolls are brought together, as will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

To enable others skilled in the art to practice my invention, I will describe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which-q Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of a form of apparatus adapted to carry out my invention. Fig. 2 is a face view of the saine, partly in section; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus with the top ofthe rollhousings removed.

Like letters refer to like parts in each of the iigures of the drawings.

In practicing my invention the form of rolling apparatus which I prefer to employ is that which is described and claimed by me in au application filed on even date herewith. Other forms of apparatus may, however, be employed. This apparatus consists of housings a c, of the usual or any suitable construction, in which are journaled in fixed bearings the lower roll, i), and above this, in movable or sliding bearings c, the upper roll, d, which is balanced or ceunterpo'ised, so that its normal position is raised. For this purpose any of the well-known means may beemployed-such, for instance, as that shown in the drawings, which consists in attaching to each bearing c of the roll d two vertical rods, c e', which pass down through suitable passages in the bearings of the roll b and in the lower part of the housings a, and are connected at their lower ends, in the pit below the rolls, by yoliesff, which yokcs have secured to their middle the ends of the bar g, to which are attached, at suitable point-s between the two yokes f f the ends of levers 7L h,which are fulcrumed at in the pit below the rolls, and carry on their outer ends weights h, which are so disposed that they tend to keep the upper roll, (l, in a raised or elevated position, except when held down, as hereinafter explained. On the top of each rider c', at the upper part of the bearings c of the roll d, rests a block, li, against a seat, i', in

ICO

' screw j.

which bears the end of the adjusting-screws)l j', that serve to vary the distance of the rolls apart, and thus the height of the pass between the rolls. These screws are operated by the usual hand-wheel, k, and shaft k, on which the same is m0unted,and bevel-wheels k2 and k con necting said shaft with the screwsjj, so that the upper roll, cZ, may be forced toward the roll b as much as may be desired by turning the hand-wheel k, the effect of said screws being opposed to the weights or balances h5. In order to obtain a quick separation of the rolls, so that sufficient space will be allowed between the rolls for the free passage of the billet, slab, or bloom therethrough after the rolling operation, as hereinafter explained, which sepa ration is independent of and in addition to the adjustment ot' the rolls toward each other for the purpose of varying the pass, a wedge or tapering iilling piece or block, Z, is placed between eaeh block t' and the top of the rider c', these lling-pieces or wedges being connected vtogether to secure a uniform movement of the roll at each end of the same. rlhe form of this wedge or illing-piece should be such that at its point of greatest thickness it will be equal to the distance which it is desired to separate the rolls in addition to the thickness of the plate or billet rolled-that is, the amount over and above the distance they have already been separated to obtain the desired reduction in metal at that p ass.

The form of wedge which I have shown in the drawings consists of the parallel side portion,Z, which is comparatively thin, and serves to hold the wedge or llingpiece in position when the roll is raised, and a similar parallel side portion, Z2, whose increase of thickness over that of the portion Z is equal to the amount of separation of the rolls desired, in addition to the thickness of the bloom or slab, the two portions being connected by the tapering part Z, so that as the wedge or filling-piece is forced laterally by suitable means the roll (Z will be forced down by the gradually-tapering faces of the part Z3 until the portion Z2 is interposed between the block Z and the rider c', which brings the upper roll, (Z, tojust the right distance from the lower roll,b to give the desired reduction in the metal, which distance may of course be varied by the raising or lowering of the adjusting-screws?" j', as the weights la always hold the roll in the highest possible position. Vhen the thick portion, Z2, is inter posed between the riders c and the block fi, then the rolls are in a position for rolling-that is, brought together; but by forcing the wedges Z laterally, so that this thick portion is withdrawn and the thin portion,Z, interposed between the block Z and the rider c', the upper roll, eZ, willimmediately be moved upward by the counterpoises 7L, and the rolls separated an additional amount to what they were before, which separation for the same wedge or filling-piece Z always remain the same whatever may be the adjustment of the rolls by the To operate these wedges or fillingpieces,any suitable system of hand-levers may' be employed; but I prefer to use steam or hydraulic pressure. For this purpose two parallel bars are secured at each end to the top of the riders c on each side of the blocks z', and attached to these bars and supported between them over the middle ofthe roll eZ is the cylinder m, having the piston m therein and piston-rod m2 passing through a stuffing-box, m3, in each head of the cylinder, one end'of said rod being secured to one wedge or filling-piece, Z, and the other end to the other wedge. The cylinder is also provided with a steain or valve chest, n, therein supplied with suitable supply and exhaust pipes, which are preferably made telescopic to provide for the movement of the cylinder with the rolls (Z.

To operate the slide or othersuitable valve, n,of the cylinder,the valve may have attached thereto a rod, n2, which is provided with loop n to embrace and extend beyond the adjustingscrewj to the outer side of the housing a, where it is attached by a sliding connection to the end of an operating-lever, al, which is pivoted to any suitable support on the side of the frame. By this means the roll d can be raised or lowered at any time by the movement of the operating-lever a,which admits the steam into the proper end of the cylinder' to move the wedge Z in or out, as may be desired.

To feed the bloom, billet, or slab to andfro during the rolling operation, one side of the rolls is provided with a table composed of the positively-driven friction-rolls, 0, which are geared together, and are connected to some suitable motive power similar to those now in general use. On the other side of the rolls is a table of somewhat different construction. This table consists ot a series of longitudinal fixed bars or rails, p, between the inner ends of which are guidesp, which extend over the roll b and serve to prevent the metal from fol'- lowing the roll b as it comes from the pass. Back of these guides and mounted on a series of cross shafts, q, are a series of V-shaped grooved friction-rollers, q', which are between the bars p and project slightly above the upper surface of the latter. A number of these crossshafts carrying friction-rollers are arranged back of each other, the firsttwo or three shafts, or more if necessary, being geared together and to some motive power, so that they can be positively drawn in either direction. rlhe system of belting and gearing which I have illus- IZO trated for this purpose consists in connecting the first cross-shaft, q, by a belt, q, to a shaft, r, on which is arranged two loose pulleys, r and lr2, positively driven in the reverse direction, and between said pulleys a clutch, r3, having a sliding connection with the shaft, so that it can be thrown into engagement with either pulley to drive the shaft correspondingly, a shifting-lever, r4, being provided for the operation of this clutch. To drive the other cross-shafts from the first crossshaft, q, any suitable system of gearing may be employed-n snch, for instance, as the longitudinal shaft {ceasefia g3, connected to the cross-shaft q by means of the bevel-gears Q* thereon meshing with the bevel-gears g5 on the ends of the crossshafts q.

Resting on the grooved rollers q is a block or ram, s, which -is provided with a series of V-shaped ribs on its under side, which lit in the grooves of the rollers q and serve to give a greater friction-surface to the action of the rollers, and thus facilitate the propulsion of this block by the latter. The rotation of the rollers q causes this block to move to and fro over the table formed by the bars and the rollers, and by ruiming it back to the outer end 0f the table an unobstructed,receivingtable is left in front of the rolls for the slab, bloom, or billet when the latter comes through the pass, and then by bringing up the ram s, by turning the rollers forward, the slab or bloom can be again shoved through the rolls, as hereinafter explained.

In practicing my invention the adjustingscrewsj are turned until the upper and lower rolls are the proper distance apart to produce the desired reduction of the metal, the filling piece or wedge Z having its thickest or parallel part, Z2, interposed between the rider c of the upper roll and the bearing-block t' of the adjustingscrew during this adjustment. The slab, bloom, or billet is now laid on the frictionrollers 0 and fed by them to the pass of rolls, through which it is driven and reduced by the rotation of the two rolls in that direction, coming out on the bars p and upper edge of the rollers q', the ram s having been run back to be out of the way. During the passage of the metal through the rolls the small roll (Z, which is carried by the same bearings as the roll d, serves to prevent the metal from coiling upward and following the upper roll, and at the same time, as it is driven by its frictional contact with the roll eZ in the reverse direction to the latter, it also serves to scrape the upper surface of the metal as it is passing onto the bars 1). When the met-al has cleared the rolls, the latter are separatpd an extent sufficient to permit the free passage of the metal backward to the feedtable o without being acted upon by the rolls or requiring the stoppage of the latter. This separation in the apparatus heretofore described the operator effects by admitting steam or hydraulic pressure in the cylinder m, so that the filling-piece or wedge Z is withdrawn from between the rider c and. block t, or until the thin part, Z', is between the same, which permits the upper roll, d, to be raised by the weights h". There is now between the rolls a distance which is sufficient for the free passage of the bloom, billet, or slab back through the rolls to the other side, to be again fed forward by the rollers. This shoving through may of course be eifected by hand, but mechanical means are preferable, and a variety of forms well known to those skilled inthe art may be used. In the apparatus heretofore described this is ef-y fected by starting the rollers Q in rotation toward the rolls.7 which brings up the ram s until it strikes against the slab or bloom resting on the table in front of it, carrying the slab along'and by its impact shoving the slab through the rolls and over the top of the bottom roll to the table on the opposite side of the rolls. As the bottom roll, b, is moving in a direction contrary to that of the slab, the movement of the latter over the surface ofthe roll b, when it is shoved back between the rolls, also serves to scrape off the scale from the under side of the slab, which is a considerable advantage in rolling plate.

Zhen the plate or bloom has been shoved through to the other side of the rolls as above set forth, the rotation of the rollers q' is reversed and the ram s withdrawn to the rear end of the table. At the same time the fillingpieee or wedge Z is forced in betweenthe blocks t' and riders c until the thickest part, Z, of the wedge is interposed between them, which again brings thcrolls to the same relative position with respect to each other that they occupied during the first reduction, and if it is desired to further reduce on the next pass the adjusting-screws y' are turned to bring the top roll down the desired amount. Ars the top roll is always raised a uniform amount by the action of the filling-piece and counterpoise, the relative position of the rolls at each pass is unaffected. After each rolling operation the rolls are separated and the billet or slab forced back. The rolls are then again brought together and the metal fed forward, to be again reduced.

If desired, in carrying out my method the lower roll may be separated from the upper rolls, or the two rolls may be moved away from each other instead of moving the upper roll, as in the apparatus heretofore described. This method of rolling has the great advantage that no labor' or power is required to lift the bloom or billet at each operation, to accomplish which it is not necessary to employ a revcrsingdnill, and the number of men required to manipulate the metal is very small compared with the present practice. At the same time a better and more unifoii'm finish is obtained on the metal rolled.

I do not claim in this application the apparatus for rolling metal heretofore described, as that forms the subject-matter of a separate application filed by me on even date herewith.

Having now described my invenlion,what I claim isW l. The improvement inthe art of rolling metal,which consists in reducing the metal by passing it through the rolls in one direction, then separating the rolls and passing the metal back between the rolls to the other side to be again reduced when the rolls are brought together, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The improvement in the art of rolling n1etal,which consists in reducing the metal by passing it through two-high rolls in one direction, then separating the rolls and passing the metal back between the rolls, so as to be ready ICO to be again acted upon when the rolls are rolls, substantially as and for the purpose set brought together, substantially as and for the forth. Io purpose set forth. In testimony whereof I, the said ROBERT A.

3. The improvement in the art of rolling CARTER, have hereunto set my hand. 5 metal, which consists in rolling the metal be- ROBERT A. CARTER.

tween a pair of rolls driven in one direction, Witnesses: then separating the rolls and passing the metal N. S. STOOKWELL, back over the surface of the rotating lower J. N. CooKn. 

